@PHDTHESIS{ 2024:1084229767,
 	title = {Predicting uncanny perception in virtual humans faces through computer vision techniques},
 	year = {2024},
 	url = "https://tede2.pucrs.br/tede2/handle/tede/11681",
 	abstract = "Currently, the increasing presence of conversational agents and virtual humans in everyday life has attracted the attention of researchers, especially in the field of psychology. The perception of human faces has emerged as a relevant and widely investigated topic, especially considering the interaction with virtual characters. Recently, studies have explored the perception of virtual humans, highlighting the feeling of strangeness ? or discomfort ? that can be generated by certain representations, a central concept in the Uncanny Valley (UV) theory. This phenomenon can significantly influence our perceptual and cognitive discrimination, making it essential to understand the mechanisms that support it in order to mitigate its occurrence in the modeling of virtual humans. The present work aims to examine the relationship between facial features and the level of comfort that individuals experience when interacting with animated characters generated by Computer Graphics (CG). To this end, we propose and develop interpretable models that identify specific areas of the face that can trigger discomfort, allowing improvements that make these representations more pleasant both visually and interactively. The most effective model, which uses an ensemble technique, achieves an accuracy of 80%. The results of this study have the potential to impact several areas, such as game development, conversational agents, and the film industry, contributing to the creation of characters that avoid causing strangeness in users. To validate our approaches, we conducted experiments with participants, collecting quantitative and qualitative data that suggest that the proposed models operate as expected. In this way, we seek not only to advance the understanding of interactions with virtual humans, but also to provide practical guidelines for improving their characteristics, promoting more pleasant and comfortable experiences.",
 	publisher = {Pontif?cia Universidade Cat?lica do Rio Grande do Sul},
 	scholl = {Programa de P?s-Gradua??o em Ci?ncia da Computa??o},
 	note = {Escola Polit?cnica}
}